Curriculum & Instruction

• Special-educators in demand despite recession
  Even as some Southern California districts lay off hundreds of teachers, they are hiring special-education, math, science and foreign-language teachers. At a job fair, one district was offering a $9,000 bonus for special-educators. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.) (free registration) (3/21)

• Schools help students learn to manage stress
  Testing, college admissions and financial worries may trigger student stress, but some schools are fighting back by teaching students yoga, tai chi and other relaxation techniques. "It empowers students in a moment when it's easy for stress and anxiety to take away their confidence," said teacher Carla Tantillo, who is also a certified yoga instructor. "What I've noticed is that students will experience anxiety, but they can pull themselves out of it quicker." U.S. News & World Report (3/20)

• Other News

• Chemist uses music to teach that "everybody can be a scientist"
  The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/17)

The Functional Skills System and the iPod Touch Now you can use the iPod Touch loaded with videos from our Functional Skills System to teach and reinforce critical functional life, social, math, literacy and work skills necessary for independence. Click here to learn more.

Educational Leadership

• School counselors take more proactive role
  Amid the economic crisis, more school counselors are seeking out students who may be struggling personally or academically. Once they've identified such students using data or personal contacts, counselors are holding group counseling, programs for transfer students and academic early-intervention sessions. The Washington Post (3/23)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by CEC SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Transition plans may frustrate parents, special-educators (Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org))

• Final 2009 budget boosts Title I and special-education funding (Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org))

• Editorial: Successful dyslexia program should be expanded (The Seattle Times)

• Help students with disabilities better prepare for adult life (Disability Scoop)

• Touch helps students grasp language better (ScienceDaily)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

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Technology Trends

• Teachers turn to technology to engage students
  Teachers increasingly are moving away from lectures and looking for ways to enhance their lessons with technology. A Mississippi teacher uses a laptop to teach students about velocity, showing them an animated ladder that falls faster and faster. Less time spent lecturing also means teachers have more time to work with students individually. The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) (3/23)

• Online school aims to keep at-risk students from dropping out
  A virtual school based in Kansas City, Mo., helps students who have been suspended from traditional middle schools to keep up with their academics from home. Such students are often poor and academically far behind their classmates. The program is meant to keep them from dropping out. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)/The Associated Press (3/20)

Policy News

• Special-education programs to get $280 million in Massachusetts
  Massachusetts schools will receive $280 million to provide special education without cutting into general funds, the state's governor and education commissioner said Friday. The governor also announced an additional $168 million in state funds to bring districts up to "foundation levels." Boston Herald/The Associated Press (3/20)

• Autism services cost Vermont $60 million in 2007
  In 2007, each Vermont resident with autism cost the state an average of $60,000, according to a legislative audit. The $60 million total -- which includes $27.5 million in educational services for children with the disorder -- is likely to increase as 16.5% more Vermonters were diagnosed with autism in 2008 than in 2007. The Times Argus (Barre-Montpelier, Vt.) (3/19)

• California judge dismisses "prone restraint" case
  The family of a 9-year-old student with autism who was restrained in the controversial prone position two years ago after he began throwing objects at others has no grounds on which to sue the school, a judge in California's Orange County has ruled. The boy's father had alleged negligence, civil rights violations and false imprisonment, but the judge said the allegations were too vague. The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) (3/20)

• Other News

• Nebraska educators, lawmakers debate best use of stimulus funds for education
  Omaha World-Herald (Neb.) (3/23)

Eye on Exceptionalities

• High-school student wins regional Braille competition
  High-school senior Keila Alequin, who has visual disabilities and started learning Braille when she was 7, won top honors in a Long Island Braille contest that tests spelling, reading speed, reading comprehension and understanding of charts and graphs. Alequin, 18, will compete in the national Braille Institute of America championship in June. Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) (subscription required) (3/22)

• Dolls with disabilities have supporters, critics
  Dolls that resemble children with developmental, sensory and physical disabilities appeal to some parents who say they boost children's self-esteem. But others fear the toys perpetuate stereotypes. TIME (3/19)

CEC Spotlight

• How will the economic-stimulus package affect special education?
  CEC is pleased to offer the latest information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the economic-stimulus package, and how it will affect special education. Resources include a Q-and-A summarizing portions of the act that CEC believes to be of particular interest to special-educators. Find out more.

• Spring into CEC's Web seminars
  Jump-start your professional development this spring with CEC's webinars. Each session is presented by special-education experts and is a great way to broaden your knowledge on important topics. Don't miss a topical series this month on gifted-education standards. Find out more.

Special Education -- Case Managers and Teachers Teach Chicago Turnarounds (Chicago Public Schools) Chicago, IL A.T. Specialist/PHD Consultant Hiawatha Valley Education District Winona, MN Multiple Positions in Special Ed, Speech Pathology Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Fairbanks, AK

Editor's Note

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SmartQuote

We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond." --Marcel Proust, French novelist